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Mark Penn, the top campaign strategist for Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign, advised her to portray Barack Obama as having a “limited” connection “to basic American values and culture,” according to a forthcoming article in The Atlantic.

The magazine reports Penn suggested getting much rougher with Obama in a memo on March 30, after her crucial wins in Texas and Ohio: “Does anyone believe that it is possible to win the nomination without, over these next two months, raising all these issues on him? ... Won’t a single tape of [the Reverend Jeremiah] Wright going off on America with Obama sitting there be a game ender?”

Atlantic Senior Editor Joshua Green writes that major decisions during her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination would be put off for weeks until suddenly Clinton “would erupt, driving her staff to panic and misfire.”

Green reports that on a staff conference call in January where Clinton received “little response” or “silence” to several of her suggestions for how to recover from the Iowa loss and do better in New Hampshire, “Clinton began to grow angry, according to a participant’s notes,” Green recounts. “‘This has been a very instructive call, talking to myself,’ she snapped, and hung up.”

The eight-page blockbuster, “The Front-Runner’s Fall,” draws on internal memos, e-mails and meeting notes to reveal what the magazine’s September issue calls “the backstabbing and conflicting strategies that produced an epic meltdown.”

Penn, the presidential campaign’s chief strategist, wrote in a memo to Clinton excerpted in the article: “I cannot imagine America electing a president during a time of war who is not at his center fundamentally American in his thinking and in his values.”

A key take-away from the article is that Clinton received a lot of accurate advice, including from Penn. He wrote a remarkably prescient memo in March 2007 about the importance of appealing to what he called “the Invisible Americans,” specifically “WOMEN, LOWER AND MIDDLE CLASS VOTERS” — exactly the groups that helped Clinton beat Obama in key states nearly a year later.

But no one synthesized and acted on the good advice.

“The anger and toxic obsessions overwhelmed even the most reserved Beltway wise men,” Green writes. “[H]er advisers couldn’t execute strategy; they routinely attacked and undermined each other, and Clinton never forced a resolution. ... [S]he never behaved like a chief executive, and her own staff proved to be her Achilles’ heel.

“What is clear from the internal documents is that Clinton’s loss derived not from any specific decision she made but rather from the preponderance of the many she did not make.”

Geoffrey Garin, a well-known Democratic pollster who helped direct the campaign’s strategy team for Clinton’s presidential campaign during its final two months, wrote in a memo to at least 10 top campaign aides that he wanted to stop “end runs” around communications director Howard Wolfson.

“I don’t mean to be an asshole, but ... changes to important statements and other critical campaign communications simply have to go through Howard,” Garin wrote on April 12. “Howard is the person who is ultimately responsibility for making sure that we deliver our messages the right way, and I hope everyone will support and respect him in that role.”

Robert Barnett, the superlawyer and longtime Clinton adviser, e-mailed about 20 Clinton aides on March 6, with the subject line “STOP IT !!!!”: “This circular firing squad that is occurring is unattractive, unprofessional, unconscionable and unacceptable. ... After this campaign is over, there will be plenty of time to access blame or claim credit.”

Another part of that e-mail was quoted in The New York Times in a June article by Peter Baker and Jim Rutenberg.

Readers' Comments (832)

Breathtaking. Looks like Solis Doyle was all too happy to counter the poor-Bill & Hill messaging this week. Who else had all these docs at the ready? Doesn't make much sense for this story to drop unless there is ongoing concern about Hillary's voters. Never let em see ya sweat. What a pipsqueak move.

Interesting as to who supplied all the materials. What back stabbers! Hillary should have said goodby to solis-doyle long ago. One thing to remember - this was a very, very close race. And they should be concerned about Hillary's voters. They don't have them yet!

Breathtaking. Looks like Solis Doyle was all too happy to counter the poor-Bill & Hill messaging this week. Who else had all these docs at the ready? Doesn't make much sense for this story to drop unless there is ongoing concern about Hillary's voters. Never let em see ya sweat. What a pipsqueak move.

Good point. Why do we care about any of this right now?

I'm a registered Democrat and a Clinton supporter that will be voting for McCain in November. More Clinton bashing isn't going to convince me to vote for Obama.

Well, there might be one thing that would convince me to vote for Obama over McCain. Today, it is clear that both the Republicans and the Democrats have backers that want to see oil prices remain high. The Republicans want to use the high prices to motivate more drilling and more nuclear, and the Democrats want to use the high prices to promote more alternative energy. As we wait for both the Republicans and the Democrats to get what they want the rest of us are getting screwed.

Obama's current plan will do more harm than good. Obama wants to use high oil prices to buy votes with a $1000 tax rebate. The rebate will just increase the federal budget deficit, weaken the dollar and drive up the cost of imported oil even further. What a jack a--. If Obama would stop pandering and buying votes and instead promote an energy policy that will work, then I might support him. Otherwise, I'll be voting for McCain.

Prior to 911, oil was selling for about $20 per barrel. Since then, speculation has driven the price up to around $140 pre barrel. Any time a conflict occurs in the middle east or any time the Iranian president starts talking about building nuclear weapons or closing the Persian Gulf to oil tankers, the price of oil goes up.

If the oil speculators knew that every new car sold in America is a flex-fuel vehicle that can burn ethanol or methanol in addition to oil, then why would those speculators care about what goes on with the oil supply in the middle east? When oil loses its strategic value, the price of oil will fall.

If the oil speculators knew that most of the new cars sold in America after 2012 are plug-in hybrids that are able to take most people to work and back using nothing but battery power, then why would oil speculators care about the oil supply? When oil loses its strategic value, the price of oil will fall.

The key to bursting the oil speculation bubble is driving cars that are powered by a combination of electricity, ethanol, methanol, natural gas, hydrogen and only a little oil. If Americans are given choices in the source of energy used to power their vehicles, then oil will lose its strategic value. If we are given energy choices, then oil prices will fall.

For more information on how to strip oil of its strategic value and burst the oil speculation bubble read the following article on Anne Korin and click on the links at the bottom of the page to see her speech on the subject.

...and yet, in spite of Hillary Clinton's mismanagement of her campaign, there are still those who would claim that she should be the Democrats' nominee to run the U.S. Government? It should also be noted that although Barack Obama's record may be thin, there's no denying the impressiveness of a little-known African-American Senator with a foreign sounding name putting together the sleekest grassroots campaign ever seen, and defeating the former First Lady in a Democratic primary battle.

there's no denying the impressiveness of a little-known African-American Senator with a foreign sounding name putting together the sleekest grassroots campaign ever seen, and defeating the former First Lady in a Democratic primary battle.

I would be impressed if Obama called on Nancy Pelosi to bring our do-nothing Congress back into session to hammer out an energy bill that is designed to strip oil of its strategic value and burst the oil speculation bubble.

For more information on how to strip oil of its strategic value and burst the oil speculation bubble read the following article on Anne Korin and click on the links at the bottom of the page to see her speech on the subject.

there's no denying the impressiveness of a little-known African-American Senator with a foreign sounding name putting together the sleekest grassroots campaign ever seen, and defeating the former First Lady in a Democratic primary battle.

I would be impressed if Obama called on Nancy Pelosi to bring our do-nothing Congress back into session to hammer out an energy bill that is designed to strip oil of its strategic value and burst the oil speculation bubble.

For more information on how to strip oil of its strategic value and burst the oil speculation bubble read the following article on Anne Korin and click on the links at the bottom of the page to see her speech on the subject.

and "CENTRiST," there's no way in hell you're a registered democrat. you're nothing but a mcgeezer troll trying to earn points for a ride on the crooked talk express. the press has already done a story on mcgeezer's sorry attempt to gain a presence in the blogosphere by having hacks like you cut and paste from his dorky website. good luck getting that official autographed metamucil bottle. you only need to cut and paste another 100 mcgeezer lies to earn your "reward."

and "CENTRiST," there's no way in hell you're a registered democrat. you're nothing but a mcgeezer troll trying to earn points for a ride on the crooked talk express. the press has already done a story on mcgeezer's sorry attempt to gain a presence in the blogosphere by having hacks like you cut and paste from his dorky website. good luck getting that official autographed metamucil bottle. you only need to cut and paste another 100 mcgeezer lies to earn your "reward."

I really don't care about what Mark Penn thought after he already left the campaign. Oh I forgot! The campaign was already suspended. I really don't care about what the campaign talked internally. It doesn't change the fact that BO cheated in the caucus and won the caucus states by breaking the rules. And the NY time should be ashamed of themselves. They never report Edwards story and playing personal attack dog for BO during the primary. If there is a way to make PUMAs more ****ed off about the media bias against Sen. Clinton & Obama relentlessly took underhanded information to smear the opponent, this is it! BO blackmailed Edwards to get his endorsement and kick him out of the VP spot. Now he tool the internal email from the back stabber PattySolis Doyle to smear Sen. Clinton because he is so freaking afraid that Sen. Clinton will win the nomination ballot. NObama!

whatever. no real clinton supporter is going to waste their time spreading mcgeezer's outrageous lies. if you were really a dem, you'd be worried about supreme court nominations, about ending this filthy war, about bankruptcy, and the environment. mcgeezer is a dyed-in-the-wool rethuglican. and if you're not a mcgeezer hack pretending to be a disgruntled dem, then you should be ashamed of your puma-like vindictiveness. take a breath, and come back from the dark side, luke skywalker, before it's too late. this nation's future is too important to play revenge games with. just a friendly piece of advice from a fellow "dem." p.s. obama needs clinton on the ticket to take on mcbomb's slime attacks.

and JOEYSKY, you and the other pumas are truly cracked. i can understand being angry and bitter for a couple of weeks, but to start spinning insane paranoid delusions about obama "cheating" to win caucuses? you need to check yourself in for some psych evaluation. i'm pretty sick of "outraged" pumas and their pathetic and sad attempts to smear obama. your candidate LOST, okay? get over it and get back on the winning team. that goes for you too "PHANTOM JOEL." your ability to judge "authenticity" is obviously as cracked as JOEYSKY's grasp of reality.

I have been pasting my own stuff, because I don't want to rewrite it from scratch each time.

If you ever see my posts any where else on the web, then please let me know where you find it. It would be nice to see that other people are using it. If you know of anyone that might like to copy it, then please e-mail some of it to them.

I really don't care about what Mark Penn thought after he already left the campaign. Oh I forgot! The campaign was already suspended. I really don't care about what the campaign talked internally. It doesn't change the fact that BO cheated in the caucus and won the caucus states by breaking the rules. And the NY time should be ashamed of themselves. They never report Edwards story and playing personal attack dog for BO during the primary. If there is a way to make PUMAs more ****ed off about the media bias against Sen. Clinton & Obama relentlessly took underhanded information to smear the opponent, this is it! BO blackmailed Edwards to get his endorsement and kick him out of the VP spot. Now he tool the internal email from the back stabber PattySolis Doyle to smear Sen. Clinton because he is so freaking afraid that Sen. Clinton will win the nomination ballot. NObama!

you are unbelievably dillusional...he won and if anything those internal memos that are quoted shows that he was beating her by delegates and they were scared by it....good job PUMA...go vote McCain, who holds absolutely nothing in common with Hillary who is backing and campaigning for Obama....whatever helps you people sleep at night.

Are you going to "leak" Obama's internal memos and tensions as well? How about all the internal arguments that go on in the McCain camp? Pretty disgustingly transparent attempt by the Obama campaign to shake Clinton voters and superdelegates loose. Once again, the Dem Party is trying to blow itself up, and no this does not make me support Obama who is an immensely weak candidate. Anybody can trumpet a single theme change-change-change, but it says nothing about how they'd bring it about, and in Obama's case, he has nothing in his background that shows he's a reformer with significant accomplishment. In fact, the facts point to the opposite. He's a divider who helped wealthy donors to his campaigns against the interests of his own constituents. I think Obama once again has shown he is no unifier. This "leak" should be the reason that NO ONE EVER VOTES FOR OBAMA OR ALLOWS HIM IN A POSITION OF RESPONSIBILITY because he will tear this country apart.

A Centrist: "I would be impressed if Obama called on Nancy Pelosi to bring our do-nothing Congress back into session to hammer out an energy bill that is designed to strip oil of its strategic value and burst the oil speculation bubble."

I agree that the only real short term solution to our energy woes is to lower oil's strategic value, and that neither candidate has a plan that will quickly accomplish this. The question then becomes which is the lesser of two evils? In an earlier post, you made the point that the Republicans are trying to get more drilling and more nuclear, while Dems are pursuing alternative energy. If you believe that global warming is real, and if you are at all acquainted with the can of worms that is nuclear waste, then it is clear which is the correct path for the country to follow.

if you were really a dem, you'd be worried about supreme court nominations, about ending this filthy war, about bankruptcy, and the environment.

I think that McCain is likely to nominate moderates to the supreme court. He has said repeatedly that Thomas and Scalia are not a model that he would follow.

I don't believe that Obama will end any of the current wars. Furthermore, I'm worried that Obama will send troops to Darfur.

Yes, I am worried about the federal budget. That's why I doubt that we can trust one party with total control of the federal government. You saw how the Republicans ran amuck when they had total control. Do you expect anything different from the Democrats?

Yes, I am worried about the environment, but McCain supports alternative energy.

I agree that the only real short term solution to our energy woes is to lower oil's strategic value, and that neither candidate has a plan that will quickly accomplish this. The question then becomes which is the lesser of two evils? In an earlier post, you made the point that the Republicans are trying to get more drilling and more nuclear, while Dems are pursuing alternative energy. If you believe that global warming is real, and if you are at all acquainted with the can of worms that is nuclear waste, then it is clear which is the correct path for the country to follow.

The greatest mass extinction in the history of our planet did not occur 65 million years ago when an asteroid killed the dinosaurs. The greatest mass extinction occurred about 250 million years ago due to global warming that began as a result of volcanic eruptions. Although climate change is natural, it is also true that CO2 levels play a role and we can have an impact on CO2 levels. If we really want to drop CO2 levels, then nuclear is actually a very good option and some environmentalist now support it.

I think that the environment is a primary concern, but I also think that the economy is a more urgent problem and oil prices are a key component of the problem.

I think that Anne Korin is correct when she says that the government can play a key role in the process of stripping oil of its strategic value and that it should be a priority while we work on both oil prices and the environment.